Questions of Funding 09/19/2009
Want to have your say? Click comments and 'leave a reply'... One of the key problems, yet rarely addressed, is the question of how adaptation policies will be funded; in particular, how will we fund technological transfer and education to developing countries who cannot afford to pursue these ventures on their own accord. A further question is why developing nations should fund adaptation and mitigation of a problem that they did not contribute to in the first place? Should the heavily industrialised countries, who have contributed significantly to the change in conditions, be liable for this expense? Some of the expected costs of adaptation as assessed by various organisations are: World Bank (2006) - $9-41 million/year. Stern Review (2006) - $4-37 million/year Oxfam (2007) – At least $50 million/year UNDP (2007) - $86-109 million/year UNFCCC (2007) - $28-67 million/year UNFCCC (2007) $49-171 million/year (Source: Shardul Agrawala, Senior Economist, OECD Environment Directorate) These figures range from $4-171 million/year and hence represent a large difference in estimations. In order to form a sufficient budget, a smaller gap in estimations is required. Developing countries and industrialised countries are far apart on how much money should be stumped up to help vulnerable economies that are most exposed to the impacts of changing weather patterns. Leaders in December must agree a new deal on funding which will allow a substantial fall in greenhouse gas emissions. Changes in rainfall are already affecting food production and changes in temperature are increasing exposure to malaria. These changes will become increasingly evident as time progresses and the conditions worsen. There have been some calls for developing nations to be the recipient of a 600-billion-dollar "Marshall Plan" annually to tackle climate change with support from rich nations on a scale not seen outside wartime recovery, however justifying such expense to taxpayers during an economic downturn is not an easy sell. The World Economic and Social Survey called for a "Global Sustainable New Deal" to overcome the "woefully inadequate" estimate of 21 billion dollars currently set aside internationally to adapt to and cope with climate change. Despite the need for 'green' development there is conflict over the restrictions that these policies will place on the ability of poorer nations to develop their economies and industrialise. Some developing nations still have limited access to electricity and hence some argue that electricity should be prioritised over low carbon growth. The Adaptation Fund is unique among the financial instruments of the international climate change regime in being exclusively dedicated to the funding of concrete adaptation activities. Given the relatively large but nonetheless limited size of the funding that is projected to be available through this instrument, potential interest in this funding source is bound to be considerable. |